The fact that rabbits, like their relatives, hares, is extremely shy, everyone knows. But not everyone knows that these animals are subject to stress on all sorts of reasons, up to weather changes, to such an extent that they may even change the color of their urine. The sensitive rabbit body quickly reacts to all sorts of external and internal stimuli, so experienced breeders do not panic for each such manifestation, but try to quickly find the cause and eliminate it, as, for example, in cases when these animals turn red into red.
Rabbit red urine: causes
It would seem that staining of rabbit urine in red is a sure signal to the rabbit breeder for immediate treatment for veterinary care.
Did you know? In optimal conditions and with good care, the rabbit can live up to eight years.However, experienced owners are not in a hurry to do this, but they are taken to analyze the situation, since such a seemingly alarming phenomenon at first glance can be caused by completely innocuous and easily remediable reasons:
- The presence in the rabbit diet vegetables rich in beta-carotene, in the form of carrots, beets, lettuce, spinach, tomatoes and peppers. A similar phenomenon occurs when animals use pine needles, which also has carotene in its composition. However, with all the harmlessness of this effect, a problem arises here with its identification, since not all rabbits that feed on the same feeder, it is observed.
- Dehydration of the rabbit body due to excessively high air temperatures can also lead to excessive urinary pigmentation. This is especially dangerous in cases where the animal catches heat stroke, therefore, in the form of prophylaxis, it is necessary to maintain the optimum temperature regime and monitor the presence of fresh water in the drinking bowl.
- Increased sensitivity of rabbits to external and internal stimuli and a tendency to succumb to stress. In a stressful situation of this animal are able to plunge and a sharp change in the weather, and a change of residence, and even familiarity with the new inhabitants of the rabbit cage. As a result, the urine of the animal noticeably reddens.
- This disturbing phenomenon can also be provoked by antibiotics administered to an animal earlier, which sometimes increase urine pigmentation.
However, the reddening of rabbit urine is not always explained by such simple reasons.
Often it indicates some fairly serious diseases:
- In urolithiasis, redness of the urine is accompanied by difficulties in animals with urination and the presence of sand in it.
- In diseases of the genitourinary or reproductive systems, as well as due to infection of the kidneys or urethra, urine is painted red not with pigments, but with blood. Uterine tumors and abortions have a similar effect, and in males this is observed in case of genital carcinoma or injuries.
Important! At the first signs of hematuria, that is, the presence of blood in rabbit urine, should immediately seek veterinary care.
Priority measures
With the appearance of red urine and until the reasons for its formation are clarified, one should:
- Rabbits with a similar symptom are immediately isolated from other individuals.
- After that, first of all, follow the process of urination in animals and if you find problems in this process, indicating an infectious disease, seek veterinary care.
- Help reduce ambient temperatures and allow animals to quench their thirst without difficulty.
- Reduce the proportion of foods containing carotene in the diet of animals.
Treatment methods
If rabbit urine turns red not because of illness, no treatment is expected. Everything is solved by eliminating the causes that led to this effect. Much more difficult is the situation when rabbit urine is found with blood, sand or any sediment, which may indicate serious diseases.
Did you know? Rabbits are not only tasty meat and valuable fur. Today, these fluffies are in third place in popularity among pets after dogs and cats.Here you may need emergency veterinary care up to surgical intervention, as in cases, for example, the detection of malignant and benign tumors or polyps in the rabbit uterus.
Medicines
In cases where the rabbit's urine turns red due to inflammatory processes in the urinary system and at the same time the life of the animal is out of danger.
Learn more about rabbit anatomy.Usually resort to the help of antimicrobial agents in the form of:
- "Egotsina"which is a solution designed to combat acute and chronic infections of the genitourinary system, for which rabbits are injected by injection for every kilogram of body weight with 0.25 ml of antibiotic once a day for three days;
- "Kanamycin"which has a bactericidal effect on the body, fighting, among other things, with cystitis and nephritis by daily subcutaneous or intramuscular administration of the antibiotic at the rate of 0.1 ml per kilogram of live weight of the animal for three to five days;
- "Amikacin"It is an antibiotic that combats infections of the urogenital system by intramuscular or subcutaneous injections of 2–5 ml per kilogram of animal mass every 8–12 hours during the day.
Folk remedies
Actively used in the treatment of rabbits and medicines of traditional healers based on medicinal herbs:
- plantain, fresh and dried leaves of which in the form of tincture of six tablespoons of herbs and half a liter of boiling water show pronounced antimicrobial properties, including within the urinary system of animals;
- horsetailwhich, being an excellent diuretic, is successfully used in the treatment of diseases of the urogenital system, for which a tablespoon of dry grass is brewed in a glass of boiling water and the infusion obtained is used to water sick animals;
- daisieswhich, besides its bactericidal and anti-inflammatory properties, also has a sedative effect, which in the form of warm tea is given to rabbits both as a prophylactic and at the first symptoms of any indisposition;
- dillwhich, in the form of a good diuretic, activates the urogenital system, eliminating stagnation from it by taking the decoction obtained by boiling for five minutes a tablespoon of dried seeds in a liter of water.
It will be useful for you to read about how to determine the sex of a rabbit, what affects the lifespan of rabbits, when and how to mark rabbits, how to improve immunity in rabbits, why rabbits grow poorly and do not gain weight, and also find out what to do if a rabbit has thick.
Preventive measures
To prevent anxious reddening of rabbit urine, which is often life-threatening, it is necessary first of all to determine the causes of this phenomenon and eliminate those that are eliminable. 
For this you need:
- Do not overload the rabbit diet with products containing beta-carotene.
- Do not overheat animals and dehydrate their bodies.
- If possible, minimize stressful situations for animals.
- If necessary, use antibiotics to select those that do not affect the increased pigmentation of urine.
- Keep the animal habitat clean.
Important! The litter in the rabbit cage must be kept dry to avoid urinary dermatitis.
For more severe symptoms associated with the presence of blood in the urine, you should seek help from the veterinary service. Such an awesome phenomenon, like the red color of rabbit urine, can be the result of quite prosaic reasons in the form of an overdose of vegetables containing beta-carotene or a banal rabbit fright.
However, this should not discourage the rabbit breeder in monitoring his wards, which will help to fix the more dangerous symptoms.
